Mission Bay, San Diego

When we left Yuma today it was 105 and I knew we were getting close to San Diego by the numerous wind mills, border check points, a very cold RV parking spot and a happy Nikki! 70 degrees, are you kidding me???

Uncle Clinton and Aunt Shirley

We also stopped in and had lunch with Kelly's Uncle Clinton and Aunt Shirley, also in Yuma.  It was great to see them again! While we were there, we did check out my in-law's (Noel and Nancy Johson) new digs in Yuma. If I could have found some pots I would have left some petunia's but all I could find was sand, gravel and Cactus plants. We look forward to visiting with them soon in Chewelah. I sure hope Nancy will make some of her world famous brownies!

A visit with Kelly's Uncle Neil and Aunt Marge

On our way to San Diego today, we stopped in Yuma and visited with Kelly's Uncle Neil and his wife, Marge. We had a great visit and the girls made close friends with their two dogs. It looks like we will be adding a dog to the Fenn family as soon as we find a home in the Olympia area!

Augie's Quail Trail RV Park

Well, it's 1600 local and it has cooled down to 109 degrees! I would like to move here but have been promptly over-ruled by the girls. We can't wait until tonight when it gets 80 degrees or so and we will look for some shooting stars. We might even see the Hale-Bop Comet if it comes our way...

Gila Bend, AZ

We just arrived here at 1400 hrs local. The temperature is 107 degrees, but hey it's not humid! I'm sitting with the cat on the floor of our home resting and waiting for the sun to go down...

Lordsburg NM, KOA

This was your basic RV campground in Lordsburg. The freeway was close and it was in a questionable area, but with Smith & Wesson and our attack cat I really had no worries. I mean really, can a bad guy run 1300 feet per second? When Nikki started talking about the truck ride tomorrow to Gila Bend, AZ, Bella quickly put up her paws and did not want to hear anything about it. We plan on stopping at Kelly's favorite spot, a Walmart super store and I get to stop at Camping World in Tucson; Yipee!!

Carlsbad Cavern Photo's

Wow! What a day at Carlsbad Caverns. I did get the girls to walk 3 miles into this big black hole, then let them take the elevator ride back up to the surface of the world. We had a late dinner then waited for the 300,000 bats to leave the cave at dusk. It took 19 minutes for all the bats to leave and it was well worth the time to watch. We are off tomorrow to Lordsburg, NM for a quick overnight stay.

Carlsbad, NM

We arrived in Carlsbad NM yesterday to outstanding weather! 104 degrees and 13% humidity!! I want to live here but I'm being over-ruled by the girls and that thing standing by Kelly. Don't get too close to them because if they touch you it leaves little green spots as noted on our shirts. We visited Roswell, NM, a K-Mart, several antique stores and a Mexican food joint so I could finally get some great Mexican food. Tomorrow we are going to get lost in Carlsbad Caverns.

Dallas and Big Sandy, TX

Sunday and Monday we spent touring and visiting friends in the Dallas/Ft Worth area. Monday we visited the 6th Floor Museum and the girls learned about Lee Harvey Oswald and the assassination of JFK. We spent about 1 1/2 hours in the museum, then walked around the plaza and took pictures at the JFK memorial. That evening we spent visiting my friend Randy Briggs, his wife Michelle and son Christoper. I spent 8 months with Randy when we deployed to Kuwait in 2007/08. Lindsay had fun playing in the pool and taking rides on a 4-wheeler. We had a very nice visit and hope to see all of them again soon.

Tuesday we drove to Big SandyTX where we stayed at an RV park near the freeway. The weather was outstanding!! 100 degrees and 35% humidity, yipee!! The girls stayed inside and I stayed outside in the shade. I could live here forever!

Choctaw, Oklahoma

We were able to get out of Branson early in the morning which helped us avoid the daily traffic mess there. Since we left earlier than normal, we arrived at the KOA in Choctaw, Oklahoma around 2:30. It was in the 90's and we had planned on driving into Okla City, but due to the weather and a rather large basketball game, we decided to stay at the park and enjoy the pool, a tractor ride in the evening and a quiet campsite. We will leave tomorrow sometime and head out to the Dallas/Ft Worth area to stay a couple of days so I can visit my friend Randy Briggs and his family and tour the local area.

Extra Day in Branson

The girls spent the day in downtown Branson going into just about every flea market they could find. I did my job early on and located a Starbucks which kept me refreshed for several hours. The antique shops were fun and we all bought something to take home with us. We also managed looking in 2 pawn shops and had a late lunch at a family owned restaurant on main street. Kelly and I will be back one of these days for a longer stay as I would like to work at the local KOA and take in the rest of the many shows Branson has to offer.

Branson, MO

We are having so much fun here in Branson, we had to stay another night! Yesterday we went to the show "Joseph" and it was fantastic! On 29 FEB an unexpected tornado visited Branson and its distruction was still visible along the main drag. Unlike the closed welcome center when we entered Rkansaw, many good ole folks welcomed us when we came into Branson and beckoned us to their family operated Fudge store. We plan on doing some sightseeing in downtown "old-town" Branson today, then off tomorrow to Oklahoma City.